What do you get when you mix a velvet scarf, dyed with cranberry & turquoise remazol dyes, limited time, a brain that really isn’t focused on the task at hand, impatience, etc etc….

you get this…

silk/rayon velvet dyed, discharged, overdyed, forgotten & found again

velvet shibori scarf dyed, discharged, overdyed

In a rush to get *something* done, anything really, I grabbed a handful of scarves I had dyed with liquid fiber reactives. The one above I believe was cranberry & turquoise. The one below was all cranberry. I had limited time & apparently limited focus. At first i couldn’t figure out why my discharge bath wasn’t heating up. (I had unplugged my hotplate set up). Then even when hot enough it didn’t seem to be working. So I started gradually (i thought) increasing the strength. Till i realized I had just doubled the amount of thiox, unintentionally, and WHAM- then it worked. Quickly stripping way more than intended.

I was completely devastated since it was yet another “failure” in a long list of things that hadn’t been going well. And i just *didn’t have the time* to do it all over again.

I peeked under the folds and realized it also hadn’t been compacted as much as I thought either. So resists weren’t tight.

*sigh*

So, I grabbed some dye paste I had left from another project from right before, literally slapped it on the poles, stuck them in buckets, and forgot about them, OUTSIDE, where it’s about 45 at night for 2 days.

Imagine my surprise when I went out to take the garbage out, and there are my little buckets, with the neglected poles. I picked the leaves off, started rinsing, pulled it off the pole and was shocked at the results. Colors I wouldn’t have ever really thought to put together had I “planned” it all out. The pinkish one below I was less impressed with, but the sister to these two is in my closet. mine mine mine.

Dyed velvet, discharged, over dyed on pole.

Now my goal is to try to in some way replicate these mistakes.

(Apologies for the crappy, unedited iphone pics. Sometimes, it’s just not worth it to drag out the big camera)

and deal directly with the manufacturers and importers of toxic, crappy plastic and lead laden toys, and not push every small business owner who makes anything that will come even remotely close to a child out of business forever.

How about we stop legislating nonsense?

I’m not even sure where to start, but a well meaning law has gone so far off the deep end, that it will literally force makers of natural toys, children’s products, kids clothing, anything that could be *perceived* by the CPSC as geared to kids (even if it’s not), to go out of business. In addition to requiring not only not allowing component testing to stand in for item testing, they are requiring it on EVERYTHING. Every color, every size, everything. I’ve seen costs for this range from 180 per item to 300 per item. In some cases there will be SEVERAL tests required. Make hand dyed baby onesies? The fabric needs to be tested for lead, as do the dyes, the snaps and the thread. All independantly. EVERY COLOR.

If you can’t prove testing, and can’t provide certification, you are not in compliance. You can be fined HUNDREDS of thousands, and face jail time.

After Feb 9th, 2009, all these items you have made over the years, will suddenly be considered hazardous waste and can NOT be sold (accross state lines- apparently you can still sell in state only, and only if you state is not as rigorous as the Fed laws.

In addition, there are parts to this law that include apparel manufacturers. “i’m not a manufacturer, I’m a dye artist, weaver, sewer, etc” you say. Nope- if you make it and sell it, you are a manufacturer. You will be required to label even more stringently. In addition, I believe- but am not positive because the whole thing is so damn confusing, submit products for testing for flammability, though it’s possible they will all just have to be labeled as flammable if you don’t.

And apparently “labels” are not permanent enough to the cpsc, it is sounding more and more like it will have to be a permanent part of the product, not removable. Yes that will look nice on that silk scarf. “FLAMMABLE!” No kidding. So don’t butt your ciggy out on it! Or dangle it over an open flame.

I urge anyone, or at least the 3 of you who read this to look into how this affects your business and art.